Five steps to open up new tourism markets

A big challenge for Cyprus is the struggle against seasonality, according to Deputy Minister of Tourism Savas Perdios who pointed out that Cyprus’ hotels are flooded with tourists during the months of May to September but not so in winter.

That’s why five steps will be taken by the deputy ministry so that the range of tourists the island attracts becomes wider – especially in the winter months, he also told Phileleftheros.

“We currently attract about 500,000-600,000 tourists in winter months and the goal is to exceed 1 million,” he also said.

As a first step, the deputy ministry will invest in new markets to add to the island’s main ones which are Britain and Russia. Efforts will focus on tourism operators in countries where Cyprus is less known, such as the Czech Republic, Poland and Ukraine.

Secondly, the deputy ministry will target markets such as Germany, France, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Austria and Belgium. And the focus will be the promotion of the island as a destination providing lifetime experiences.

At the same time, Cyprus will target potential tourists aged 65 and above from Britain, Ireland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland who are retired and can afford to take longer trips during the extremely cold winter months in their countries.

Another step to be taken is the promotion of Cyprus as a short stay destination for markets within 90 minutes by air – that is Israel, Egypt, Lebanon, Greece and Jordan.

Last but not least, a long-term goal for Cyprus is to attract visitors from far-away destinations for a short-stay holiday as part of their overall trip to neighbouring countries. The focus is on tourism from the US, China, Japan, India, Korea etc.